Race for admissions in DU begins

New Delhi: Admissions to Delhi University's (DU) four-year undergraduate courses, being launched from this academic session, started on Wednesday. Speaking in this connection, a varsity official said that the admission process would be a smooth affair.

The students seeking admission in various courses in the university can buy forms from June 5 and June 27. The admission forms for various courses will be available at 18 centers across Delhi.

NO ENTRY FOR OUTSIDER VEHICLES

Keeping the students’ convenience in mind, the university administration has decided not to allow the entry of the vehicles of outsiders in the university campus between June 5 and June 19. The public vehicles will be barred from entering the university vicinity during peak hours from 9 am to 1 pm between the mentioned dates.

“The security has been tightened across the university campus to revert any untoward incident,” said Prof Gulshan Sahani, deputy dean, students' welfare.

FOUR-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAMME SLAMMED

The university is witnessing vociferous protests against the four-year undergraduate course over the past few weeks. However, the slogan-shouting and rallies were absent on Tuesday.

Prof. Avinashi Kapoor, DU joint dean, students welfares of South Campus, told reporters, "I do not think there would be any problem because of the four-year course structure. It should be smooth and fair transition."

There were reports that due to the four-year undergraduate course, the English and the journalism entrance examination papers were cancelled.

Authorities at Lady Shri Ram College for women, one of the five DU colleges which has journalism course, declined to say whether the entrance papers had been cancelled.

PROTEST

DU has changed its three-year undergraduate course to four years, making it compulsory for students to study 11 foundation courses during the first two years.

The new course system has faced strong Opposition from student groups and the Delhi University Teachers Association. They are demanding the resignation of the vice chancellor, who wants the four-year course to be implemented. Dalit groups have called the course anti-Dalit and anti-poor.

"This four-year programme is an anti-student educational reform that will adversely affect students coming from the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Castes (OBC), the physically-challenged and minority communities in many ways," said a joint statement from Campus Front of India (CFI), Democratic Students' Union (DSU) and Students Islamic Union (SIU).

The four-year degree programme has come under fire from educationists and jurists, who have asked for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to postpone it.

In a letter to the Prime Minister about the university converting its three-year undergraduate degree into a four-year programme, jurist

Rajinder Sachar and journalist Kuldeep Nayar, among others, said, "Several educationists and intellectuals all over the country have expressed their apprehensions about the merit of this decision."

"We believe that such a basic change in the higher education system/policy should first be considered and examined by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Parliament in consultation with prominent educationists of India," they said.

The letter added, "Delhi University does not exist in isolation. If this change is so valuable, it should be implemented on the national level and there should be a national debate about its merit."

Delhi University can wait for a couple of years in the best interest of the students all over India, they said.